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Michael Carrano

Michael Carrano is a mobile software engineer in NYC.

You should follow him on Github and connect on LinkedIn.

7 Minute Workout App for Android

Published by Michael Carrano on January 22, 2014



Recently, I developed a 7 Minute Workout application for Android, which is my first Android application on Google Play.

I decided to open source the application so that I can start to build a portfolio of software that I have developed. Feel free to fork, modify, and create a pull request!

I decided to develop this application because part of my resolution for the year of 2014 is to get in better physical shape and so far I have been following the resolution. Check back in a few months to see if I am keeping up with my resolution.

It was not difficult to develop the 7 Minute Workout application and most of my time was spent figuring out what content to display in the application.

For the content I needed to do the following…

  • Research what exercises the 7 Minute Workout involves.

  • Find Youtube videos that clearly demonstrates each workout.

  • Write a short description of each workout, in case the user does not want to watch a video.

Further, I needed to figure out the design of the application which was largely dictated by the Master/Detail template. In terms of the color scheme, I went with a flat ui design.

Since I built the application off the default Master/Detail view all I really needed to do was define the data model class that held the contents of the workout. Once that is finished, it is just a matter of updating your ListView adapter to support your Class and then figuring out how to get the correct workout on the workout details view to display the Youtube video and description of the workout.

Now that I have over 150+ current installs of my application, there is a lot I want to do for my users. Some of the changes I want to make are listed on my Github repository for the application but I will define them here as well.

  • Support Android 2.3+ (I only supported 4.0+ at first since I didn’t have a device with a lower API level to test with)

  • Improve the layout for all device sizes (Originally, I only had a Nexus 7 2013 but now I have a Moto G, Droid Incredible 2, Samsung Galaxy SII to test with)

  • Implement hands free features such as sounds for what workout to do and when to rest.

  • Implement paid features such as logging your workouts, adjusting the exercise/rest duration, and randomizing the workout order.

  • A new icon to better describe what the application is about.

The first two bullet points, I have already begun to work on and I think the layouts have been greatly improved for tablets. Additionally, I bring support to Android 2.3.x which still has over 20% of the Android market. (I have not yet released these updates).

In future posts, I will write about how I handle certain situations and how I implement certain functionality that makes the 7 Minute Workout application pleasant to use.

Some of the future posts will include topics such as: (Let me know which one you want me to write about first)